Salon owner Drew Carlton has apologised after launching a torrent of online abuse towards one of his customers.

Janice Khoo went in to Future Lengths Hair Salon on Victoria Road on March 21 to have hair extensions fitted at a cost of £360, and after the appointment descended into bickering between the pair, she posted a poor review on the company Facebook page.

She was shocked when in response Drew used the official company Facebook account to post a number of expletive-ridden abusive messages towards Janice, as he felt she had damaged his business.

The account has since been taken down, at which point Drew began using his personal account to continue the abuse.

Janice, 57, of Swindon, said she had complained about the customer service after Drew seemed irritable and kept going out for cigarettes.

“I did say in my review that he did the most complicated tasks very well,” she said “It was almost like he completely lost it. I was recommended to him by a friend, who had been there twice and had never had any problems. I had been for a consultation and got a bit of a vibe from him at the time. It is only when you look back that you think it fitted in. He was irritable and in a rush.

“When it got to the stage where it needed finishing I thought I could not go out looking like that, it looked horrific. It looked like I had just got out of bed.

“The next thing I said was I would probably have to go home and do it myself. That was it. The next minute he was off down the shop, swearing at me, saying I was whinging. I just wanted to leave looking nice.”

Janice decided to pay to avoid any further arguments and said she left the shop in tears, only to encounter sustained abuse after she posted her one star review online.

“When I saw his posts I was absolutely devastated,” she said. “The vocabulary had so much anger behind it, and I have never been spoken to like that, particularly on a business page.”

Drew said Janice had been a difficult customer but he was wrong to react how he did, and he will no longer be using social media to advertise his business.

“Her attitude was completely unacceptable,” he said. “She did nothing but complain. I felt like there was nothing I could do to make this person happy.

“At the end of the appointment she decided she wanted her extensions curly. If someone wants that they have to order them in advance, but I tried to do it for her and spent an extra 45 minutes trying to get it how she wanted. She did nothing but moan.

“My reaction was completely wrong, but she was accusing me of being very inept. I have been doing what I do for 25 years, and I have never had a cross word with a client before now.

“What really upset me was that she accused me of being unprofessional. I will be the first person to say my reaction was out of order, but I wanted to protect my business. I realise now that probably did more harm.

“In those situations it is fight or flight mode, but the problem is once you have done it you can’t take it back.

“I would be more than happy to apologise to her and refund her money.”

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